Chapter 489: You

Guo Yongwen, who was eliminated in the first round, swallowed hard and said, "Do we really have to play it this big?"

At that moment, Gao Feng's voice sounded behind him: "If we don't play it this big, how can we select the elite, how can we pick the best?"

"What do you mean, Company Commander?"

"Higher‑ups want to form a combat squad, limited to six members; besides completing the daily drills, they must undergo more specialized tactical coordination training."

Gao Feng explained: "This combat squad will become the core of the unit in the future, acting as a spearhead that enters dangerous zones first, serving as the bridge between front‑line and second‑line forces."

Guo Yongwen understood and said, "So Lu Yang wants to test courage, to make everyone see blood?"

Gao Feng nodded, "That's exactly it."

Guo Yongwen felt a bit ashamed, "Company Commander, I've embarrassed you again."

"Embarrassed whom?"

Gao Feng retorted, "The combat squad needs high agility, high mobility, rapid marching—who can match Iron Foot? Different positions bear different responsibilities; every team must cooperate."

"Communication, medical, firepower, and Logistics supply are all essential. Next, you have your task: pick a few promising soldiers to form a fire‑power assault squad."

"Kong Long is pretty good, that kid handles the heavy machine gun smoothly, Wanbaoshan's shooting skill is decent, and there's QiDelong…"

Gao Feng kept naming several soldiers, and Guo Yongwen noted each of them in his mind.

Even though the Company Commander was right, each unit must cooperate to unleash maximum combat power.

But being admitted to the combat squad is itself a high recognition of ability; the squad is the unit's core, meaning more chances to earn merit.

Meanwhile, Lu Yang swallowed the raw rabbit meat, then looked at everyone again: "Honestly, I'll pick six of you to form a combat squad."

"It's similar to a raid team or reconnaissance squad; in the future we may need to go deep into dangerous zones, cooperating with front‑line forces to complete missions."

"Then we'll inevitably face water and food shortages, even eating insects and ants—that counts as pre‑adaptation."

"Of course, if you don't want to eat now, I won't force you; there'll be wilderness extreme survival training later, and we'll push you then."

"Heh, I'm afraid there's nothing you can't eat except… feces."

When Lu Yang finished speaking, Zhou Kaidong was the first to step forward.

He grabbed a knife and sliced a blood‑soaked piece from the rabbit leg.

The rabbit on the ground was dead, but its nerve reflexes still twitched; the meat jerked as he cut, making Zhou Kaidong feel extremely nauseous.

Nevertheless, he kept his eyes closed, tilted his head back, flung the meat into his mouth, and forced it down his throat.

Lu Yang clapped at Zhou Kaidong and said, "Let me see who'll be the second."

Ding Tengfei, after a fierce inner struggle and recalling his parents' expectations, gritted his teeth, squatted, cut a piece, and shoved it into his mouth.

The rabbit meat, bloody, soft, still warm, sat on his tongue, and the intense nausea almost made him vomit.

But in the end he clamped his mouth shut and forced the meat down.

Lu Yang said nothing, just gave him a thumbs‑up as approval.

Soon after, Chen Panpan, Liu Ziqiang, Wu Sida and others rushed in.

During the process, two soldiers could not tolerate such primitive behavior and voluntarily forfeited.

Lu Yang didn't say anything; everyone has their own aspirations, and this is a continual elimination, selecting the best among the best.

In the end, only Kang Changyi and a second‑phase Non‑commissioned Officer remained, standing still, fists clenched, faces showing struggle—clearly unwilling to give up yet unable to overcome their fear.

Lu Yang: "I need six people; we already have five here, only one slot left."

Kang Changyi steeled himself, stopped hesitating, and quickly grabbed a knife, ready to cut rabbit meat.

But just as he was about to act, Lu Yang stopped him, swiftly picking up a rabbit kidney from the ground.

"The rule's changed: whoever of you can eat this kidney advances."

Kang Changyi's pupils dilated in shock; his whole body felt awful.

The onlookers all shouted "WTF!" and jumped around.

"WTF, playing this rough? Holding the rabbit kidney and gnawing raw?"

"That thing's all sizzle‑y, can you eat it uncooked?"

"Sure, I knew someone has eaten it."

"Who?"

"Yu Qian's father—he gets up at dawn and eats pork kidney sashimi, large‑intestine sashimi."

"That's freaking comedy!"

"Comedy also comes from life, surely someone has eaten it that way!"

The spectators argued loudly, and Zhou Kaidong's group, who had advanced, also broke a cold sweat for the two Kang Changyi.

Fortunately they were decisive enough; otherwise, now that they have to eat the kidney, who knows if they'd actually eat it.

Interestingly, once you experience a certain fear, you realize it's just that.

The rabbit is so cute; killing it is just killing—it only smells a bit and feels nauseating when you gut it.

Raw rabbit meat, honestly, isn't as terrible as imagined; once you wipe the blood clean it has no taste, like eating slightly firm sashimi.

In the end, fear comes from within; if you don't take it seriously, it can't exert psychological pressure on you.

With this experience, killing a chicken, butchering a sheep, or a pig later shouldn't be a big issue.

"Which of you two will go first?"

Lu Yang grabbed the two blood‑soaked, pungent rabbit kidneys and handed them to the two.

One of them cleared his throat, raised a hand: "I, I quit, I really can't bring myself to eat it…"

Lu Yang hummed, then handed it to Kang Changyi: "You're the last one left; eat it, and you'll be the final member of the combat squad. Without that courage, even if you voluntarily give up…"

"Eat it or not, it's up to you."

Kang Changyi's forehead broke out in cold sweat from tension.

Inside, he resisted strongly, yet hoped joining the combat squad would prove himself.

With so many people watching, even the company commander and instructor are present; as a lieutenant platoon leader, where can you save face if you back down now?

He swallowed, pinched the rabbit kidney between his fingers, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and opened his mouth.

Like taking medicine, he bit by bit placed the bloody, sticky thing into his mouth.

But just as he loosened his grip and the foreign object fell into his mouth, a sudden sweet, cloying taste appeared in his mouth.

It was a sweet, milky fragrance.

Is this a White Rabbit milk candy?

Kang Changyi opened his eyes; the bloody, sticky thing was pinched in Lu Yang's hand, and at the same time he also held a candy wrapper in his hand.

He was dazed: "What does that mean?"

Lu Yang chuckled: "This thing has bloody threads all over and even a urine-like stench, and you dare put it in your mouth? You pass, you've cleared the test."

Kang Changyi breathed a sigh of relief as if unburdened, and the sweetness filling his mouth also steadied his mood considerably.

Lu Yang reassembled the whole team, looking at the six people before him: "From now on, this combat squad is established; next, you will receive more professional and systematic military skills training."

"But before that, we need to give the team a resounding name; does anyone have any good ideas?"

"Shark Team!"

"I still have shark chili?"

"Lightning, Lightning Team A!"

"How about Thunderclap? Thunderclap sounds good, a thunderclap out of a clear sky!"

"How about Seagull Squad? It covers sea, land, and air."

"No, no, not imposing enough, not deterrent enough. Better call it the Wu Yan Team—we're all handsome guys, all like Wu Yanzu!"

Everyone laughed, Lu Yang no exception; he looked at Liu Ziqiang, who had earlier suggested the Seagull Squad, and said: "I think your idea is not bad—it covers sea, land, and air amphibiously, but it lacks a bit of deterrence."

"Then, how about changing it to Eagle?"

"What about Vulture?"

"Otherwise, how about calling it the Phoenix Squad—rebirth through nirvana, immortal and indestructible?"